Category Archives: Rag Bloggers

Kate Braun : Lammas is the Fire Festival

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Honoring the First Harvest. Image from Asiya. Honor the harvest:Lammas is the Fire FestivalBy Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | July 24, 2013 “Lord of the Harvest place your fire in me…” Lammas, a Fire Festival also called First … Continue reading →

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Michael James : Pledging Allegiance in 1961

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Pledging allegiance, Westport, Connecticut, 1961. Photo by Michael James from his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James‘ Pictures from the Long Haul. Pictures from the Long Haul:Pledging allegiance inWestport, Connecticut in 1961 Westport is where I learned to love America, where … Continue reading →

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Jean Trounstine : The Plight of California’s Prisons

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Cruel and unusual: Overcrowded California prisons. Image from TheBusySignal.com. The plight of California’s prisons: Hunger strike, sterilization, and valley fever While we complain of 100 degree heat and take solace in our air-conditioned homes, prisoners across the country are suffering … Continue reading →

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Lamar W. Hankins : Texas Sen. Donna Campbell’s Dishonesty on Abortion

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Texas Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, speaks to an anti-abortion group outside the state capitol in Austin, Monday, July 1, 2013. Photo by Eric Gay / AP. Extremism trumps libertarian views: Donna Campbell’s dishonesty on abortion Campbell allows her extremist … Continue reading →

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Tom Hayden : Trayvon Martin and the Super-Predator Myth

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Photo by Joshua Trujillo / AP Images / SeattlePI.com The super-predator myth: Trayvon died for our sins The evidence of a violently divided America can be understood in the failure of the criminal justice system, where rationality and objectivity are … Continue reading →

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Alan Waldman: ‘Jonathan Creek’ is Clever Brit Whodunnit Series Featuring an Illusionist

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Waldman’s film and TVtreasures you may have missed: Alan Davies’s character solves locked-room mysteries and many other crimes with seemingly inexplicable aspects. By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | July 22, 2013 [In his weekly column, Alan Waldman reviews … Continue reading →

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HISTORY / Bob Feldman : A People’s History of Egypt, Part 3, 1805-1849

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Muhammad Ali Pasha, Ottoman ruler of Egypt. Painting by Auguste Couder, 1841 / Wikimedia Commons.   A people’s history: The movement to democratize Egypt Part 3: 1805-1849 period — The autocratic rule of Muhammad Ali Pasha. By Bob Feldman | The … Continue reading →

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Jay D. Jurie : ‘Approved Killing’ in Florida

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Emmett Till, left, and Trayvon Martin. Image from Tumblr. Intimations of Emmett Till: A ‘shocking story of approved killing’ in Florida Today the pre-1960s explicit racial ‘code’ has been supplanted by the implicit code upon which ‘profiling’ is based. By Jay … Continue reading →

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Tom Hayden : Is Obama Really in Control?

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

This plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced to land in Vienna despite Obama’s earlier comment that he “wouldn’t scramble jets against a 29 year old hacker.” Photo by Andres Gutierrez / AP. Refs being ‘worked’? Does Obama control … Continue reading →

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Lamar W. Hankins : Voter Suppression is Republican Hallmark

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Political cartoon by John Darkow / Columbia Daily Tribune. Image from FireIntheBelly. Voter suppression is a hallmark of today’s Republicans If it took nearly 100 years to assure racial fairness in voting under law, then it might take longer than 48 … Continue reading →

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VERSE / Larry Piltz : Spurred by Love

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

Lonesome cowboy, Kiev, Ukraine, 2009. Photo by Phil Douglis / PBase. Spurred by Love [For Buck Ramsey, Cowboy Poet Laureate] On his last mountthe cowboy criesa lonesome rollerand practitionerof the ridingroping artsalso knownas its poetlaureate supremeone late nightsaying goodbyeplease staywon’t … Continue reading →

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RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Texas Law Prof Gerald Torres on Voting Rights, Affirmative Action & More

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

University of Texas law professor Gerald Torres in the studios of KOOP-FM in Austin, Texas, Friday, July 12, 2013. Photos by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog. Rag Radio podcast:UT-Austin law prof Gerald Torresjoins us on Rag Radio We discuss … Continue reading →

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